Soul Bonds Through War
by Stephycats7785
Summary: Sequel to 'Saving Of Souls' Hermione and Cedric are learning to deal with the fact their souls are bonded together and fighting in a war against Voldermort on top of that. What happens when the Dark Lord finds out the truth and wants the power of the soul bond for himself?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Soul Bonds Through War**

**Rating: T though the rating may change to M later I am not sure.**

**Pairing: Cedric Diggory/Hermione Granger**

**Summary: Sequel to 'Saving Of Souls' Hermione and Cedric are learning to deal with the fact their souls are bonded together and fighting in a war against Voldermort on top of that. What happens when the Dark Lord finds out the truth and wants the power of the soul bond for himself?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!**

**AN: So I have gotten many messages wondering when the sequel to 'Saving of Souls' would be up and because of the demand for this story I decided to start writing the sequel now. Chapters may be short, but I have a lot going on and I will try to update regularly every few days if I can.**

Shadows played in corners of an old muggle farm house that had not been used in years. Weeds crawled up among the outer edges of the now grayish trim that had many years ago been a vibrant blue. Voices could often be heard from coming inside of the home though the locals claimed it to be ghosts and that is one of the main reasons people avoided this place if they could. If anyone had any clue as to what _really _resided inside of the house, they would be wishing for ghosts because in truth that would be the lesser of the two evils.

"Tell me again Lucius." The words were a hiss which echoed off the walls in the dark living room full of moldy furniture that had not been used in decades. "Tell me how this boy survived the killing curse given by my own hand."

The blond haired death eater cringed at the sound of his master's voice. He knew that if he was unable to give Voldermort the answers he wanted there would be pain in the end. "I am not sure my lord. There have been whispers, rumors about old magic, something that hasn't been seen for centuries. I know the mudblood is somehow involved, but that is all we know. All of our inside sources can't seem to get any real concrete evidence. Whatever is happening, it is clear that Dumbledore doesn't want the information getting out."

Voldermort reached down to run his hand along Nagini's slick skin. "Then it is of upmost importance that we find out what he is hiding. You say Potter's muggle friend is somehow involved? If she is somehow related to saving this boy's life then we must know how she did it. My plans for Potter cannot be stopped because of some muggleborn. You are going to find out what Dumbledore is hiding or your wife and son will pay the price. Do not fail me Lucius."

"I will find what you need my lord." He replied bowing down on one knee in a show of respect. "If I may make a suggestion, I feel that if anyone was to know anything, I think it would be Severus. Should I send him an owl requesting for him to meet with me?"

Voldermort let out a sigh. "Do what you must Lucius, but remember that Severus has his own mission and you are not to pawn yours off on him. Request his help if you think it will be fruitful, but only his help. Whether this mission fails or succeeds is all on you and I hope I will not have to remind you of what you are going to lose should you not get the answers I seek."

Lucius nodded, feeling the weight of the threat on his shoulders. "Yes my lord, I will not fail you."

"See that you don't." The snakelike man hissed as he leaned forward in his seat. "If old magic is involved as you seem to think, I _must _have it. In the wrong hands old magic could be dangerous and the last thing I need is another distraction. If Severus does not have the answers you seek then I demand for the girl to be brought in. If the magic she has isn't anything worthy of my attention then I will use her to hurt Harry Potter. He would not have survived for as long as he has without her. Either way the girl will prove to be useful."

Draco's father nodded once more. "What of the boy my lord? If I have to bring in the mudblood would you like for him to be brought in as well? From what I can gather they are in a relationship together and if she will not give you the answers then he may be persuaded too."

"The boy is nothing." Voldermort stated with a dismissing wave of his hand. "If it comes to it feel free to kill him. I do not need him to get answers if I want them. You of all people know that I have my own ways of getting any information I want. If you can bring the boy in without him putting up much of a struggle, but if it becomes too much then kill him and this time make sure he _stays _dead."

As Lucius left he actually had to admit that a part of him, the part that was still human and could feel emotional pain and empathy for another, felt bad for Hermione Granger and Cedric Diggory. He knew firsthand what it was like to be tortured by the dark lord and he wouldn't wish that anyone, even the mudblood. He may wish her dead, but he would wish her to have a quick death and he knew Voldermort would not give her that. He could draw it out for month's if he so desired or even years. Lucius could only hope that he wouldn't have to be present for the torture. It was going to be hard enough to live with himself as it was. The only reason he was still following Voldermort was because he knew the lives his wife and son depended on it. It was better to help reign in hell than to serve in heaven and that is truly what being a death eater was, it was like serving in hell.

TBC…

**Please R&R like always!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!**

Cedric Diggory was smirking at his girlfriend as they continued to practice to read each others thoughts. Dumbledore thought it was important for them to become well practiced when it came to the powers that came with the soul bond. Mostly the powers consisted of being able to tap in to the other persons magic, emotions, thoughts, and things such as that. The way the headmaster described it was like they were two souls that needed to act as one body. The lessons were coming slow, but they were getting there considering they were two of the brightest people in this day and age.

Come on love," He coaxed with a smirk at the look of frustration on her face. One thing he had learned about Hermione was the fact she became easily frustrated when she didn't get something right after the first few tries. "You are trying to implant a thought in to my mind. Remember what Dumbledore said; it is a matter of will and mental strength. Don't try to force yourself in to my mind. You are not breaking down a wall, but more like trying to find a back door. I know that you can do Hermione, you can do anything if you put your brilliant mind to it. Just relax and don't try to force it alright?"

She sighed and nodded before closing her eyes and concentrating again. She could feel her mind expand and touch the edges of Cedric's mind. It reminded her of a spider web with the way blue threads, which indicated each of his individual thoughts, spread out and weaved amongst each other. Some threads of thought were brighter than others which meant the brighter ones were thoughts that happened to be closer to the front of his mind while the duller threads were older thoughts lost in the back of his mind. She slowly moved her mind forward and reached out to touch one of his thoughts.

_Would it be too early to propose?_ His voice echoed out the thought and as soon as Cedric realized she had tapped in to that particular thought, he closed it off hoping she hadn't heard the entire thing. Well go ahead and try to plant something in my head instead of poking around in my thoughts. Thank you by the way for not commenting on that thought. It would be best just to pretend you didn't hear it at all.

_It is as good as gone._ She replied in his mind before getting back to the task at hand. It took her a moment to think of a thought to implant in his mind. The difference between speaking in his mind and implanting a thought was the fact that when implanting a thought, it was putting a suggestion in his head and not just having a conversation. Finally she came up with the perfect thought to implant. she had to remind herself to act as if she was thinking from his point of view. _It has been a while since I did something romantic for Hermione. I should do something romantic tonight for her. Hmm, maybe I should write a sonnet or cook her dinner? Yes, I think that I will cook her something nice, the muggle way and perhaps take her flying afterwards._

After implanting the thought, Hermione pulled out of his mind with a soft smile resting on her full lips. "Well we will see if it worked later. I think we have practiced enough for today. School starts up soon and you need to decide what teacher you want to shadow and I have to catch up on my summer reading. You have taken toll on the time I use to get ahead in my studies."

The former Hufflepuff came to stand behind her as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "I never heard you complaining before. Besides, even if you didn't study at all, it's not like you would fail. I doubt you have it within yourself to fail at anything you do. On the topic of who I want to shadow, I was thinking of maybe shadowing a couple of them for the first few weeks before I decide for sure who I want to shadow full time. What would think if I did that? I want your opinion because whatever goes on in my life includes you and I would never make a big life choice without knowing how you feel about it first."

The bushy haired bookworm spun around in his arms and grabbed his hands as she started walking backwards so that she could still speak with him face to face. "You know that I will support you in whatever you choose to do. I still feel guilty that you are staying at Hogwarts for me. I know you say that it's not because of me, but sometimes I don't believe you. You must have dreams and ambitions Cedric, and I the last thing I want is for you to give them up for me. You shouldn't give your dreams up for me."

"I'm not giving anything up love and you need to realize that." He told her truthfully as his expression softened in a way it did only when she was around. "You need to realize that you are my future Hermione and wherever you are, that is where I belong because you are the one thing that makes all of my dreams come true."

Hermione brightened and blushed the way she did whenever he complimented her. She was unsure of whether she could ever get used to getting compliments all the day, but she sure would try. "You always know just the right thing to say. The only reason I nag you is because I don't want you to resent me in the future if you give up your dreams right now. I want you to be happy Cedric, by whatever means possible."

"I am happy Hermione." He told her pressing his lips against hers in a soft kiss. "I have no need to travel the world in order to be happy. Besides, I like the idea of becoming a teacher. Being able to give detentions, making homework has hard or as simple as I want, catching naughty students snogging when they should be studying, yes, I could be a regular Snape in no time at all. I could probably be worse than Snape if I tried hared enough."

Hermione laughed out loud as she pictured that. "You are terrible you know that right? You should be excited at the thought of molding young minds, not terrorizing the whole student body."

The eyes of her boyfriend were filled with mischief. "You love me regardless of the fact I can be terrible when I want to be. Besides, I can mold young minds and terrorize the students; it doesn't have to be one or the other. Come love, I am feeling rather romantic tonight and I want to cook you dinner. For some reason I feel like cooking the muggle way instead of simply conjuring up a nice dinner."

This time the Gryffindor girl smirked deviously. "It appears as if my suggestion has worked."

"Now whose devious?" Cedric grumbled even though he was smiling and shaking his head as they made their way back in to the castle.

**TBC...**

**AN: I hope that you all liked this chapter and I wanted to thank everyone who put this story on their favs, alerts, and reviewed. The chapters may be short, but I have a lot going on right now with my health. I am going to a hospital out of state Monday, but I am bring my Ipad, which is what I wrote this on, with me so I am hoping that I will be able to update, if not you know why.**

**Please R&R like always!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!**

Hermione Granger was usually the perfect student when it came to her classes. She always handed her homework in on time and her professors always knew she was paying attention and not zoning out like most of the other students. Even Snape had to admit that Hermione was an exceptional student though he would never admit it out loud. Today wasn't going like any other day though and Hermione knew it was because her boyfriend was shadowing Professor Snape during her potions class and Cedric kept doing things to take her attention off of the lesson.

Sometimes he would walk by her and gently brush up against her. Then other times he would stand behind the potions master and make faces which made all the students burst out in to laughter. The Gryffindor girl wanted to be angry with Cedric, but it wasn't working. She never could stay mad at him though he would most definitely get a lecture later on when they were alone. For now though she would simply have to put up with it.

_This class is so boring! _His voice echoed in her head and almost made her miss an important step with the potion she was working on. _The only reason I even chose to shadow him was because you have double potions every other day. If I fell asleep do you think he curse me? By the way, he wanted to test all of the students today and he added a step that you do not need to do. He wants to make sure that you all are reading the assignments he gives you. Skip over step five and your potion should be fine._

She smiled and to step six right after finishing step four. _Thanks for letting me know. Usually I wouldn't condone cheating, but I really do not consider this to be cheating because it's not as if I asked you to tell me. I didn't even know until you mentioned it. Oh, by the way, you need to step brushing up against because people are starting to watch every single move you make._

Cedric smirked before replying. _Would you rather I tell you what I want to be doing to you right now? If this classroom was empty right now I would have you pushed up against that desk and do things to you that would make a nun blush._

_Cedric Diggory! _The muggle born witch blushed furiously at the images that popped in to her head due to the comment he had just made. _If you don't let me concentrate on my potion I can promise you that we won't be doing anything in the future and stop smiling at all the girls. They are giggling every single time you do and to be honest, it's quite annoying. How would you like it if I smirked and flirted with Draco?_

_I'd end up in Azkaban for using an unforgivable curse. _The former Hufflepuff replied as he started walking down the aisles looking over the potions as Snape did the same, though he wasn't kind if he saw someone making a mistake. _Besides, you know that I only have eyes for you. Those other girls don't even hold a candle to you and you know it. What is the harm is smiling at them? If it makes them happy then I see it has doing them a service._

Hermione just shook her head as she finished up her potion well before any of the other students. _Whatever you have to tell- _Hermione never got the chance to finish what she had been saying because in the next instant a sharp pain shot through her head and she tumbled off her stool and to the floor as darkness suddenly took over. She could hear everyone talking, but was unable to move and then she realized she could also hear something else. She could hear a voice, more like a hiss as someone penetrated her mind and started to pull out her memories and no matter how much resistance she put up it did no good.

"Hermione?" The sandy haired Hufflepuff was quick to get to his girlfriend's side. He shoved a few students out of the way before falling to his knees next to her. "Love I need you to open your eyes. Come on baby, open your beautiful brown eyes."

Hermione gave no indication of waking up any time soon and so Cedric swept her up in his arms bridal style before heading towards the hospital wing and not even waiting to see if professor Snape said anything. He ran down the halls not caring his lungs were burning for air. The only thing that mattered was his Hermione and he was growing more concerned when he realized that he could no longer hear her consciousness in his head. It was if he were missing a part of himself and in his opinion it was worse than death.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey seemed to materialize out of thin air as soon as he entered the hospital wing. Her face was crinkled with worry. "Was there some sort of accident?"

"No." He said laying Hermione down on one of the hospital cots. "She was in potions class and everything seemed to be going fine and she just fell out of the blue with no warning. I can't get her to wake up and our-" He paused to lower his voice to a whisper in case someone was listening. "I feel as if our connection has been blocked. I can no longer read her thoughts."

"I need to examine her before I can come to any conclusions." The nurse stated as she pulled her wand and started to do some very complicated moves with it as she did a variety of different tests. "If you could go and get Dumbledore that would be appreciated. If this has to do with your bond then he should be here. He is the wisest man I know and if anyone would know anything it would be him."

TBC…

**AN: Hey people I am sorry if this chapter is crappy, but I got really bad news today. I have an aneurism in my hepatic artery and so I wrote this to try and take my mind off of everything. Let me know what you thought.**

**Please R&R like always!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!

Despite the calm expression on his handsome face, Cedric Diggory was absolutely terrified for the wellbeing of his girlfriend and soulmate. It had been eighteen hours since Hermione passed out in the middle of potions class and she had yet to open her eyes or doing anything that would indicated she was still alive. Of course a few simple spells done by madam Pomfrey told them she was indeed alive, she still looked dead at first glance. Her skin was near white and her lips a pale blue. When he reached out to hold her hand the coldness stunned him at first. She was freezing, colder than ice if that was even possible and the worst part was Cedric still felt as if her mind was cut off to him. It was a lot like an invisible rope between them had been cut. The former Hufflepuff had to admit that he felt oddly empty without her in his head.

"I just do not understand it Albus." The nurse came out of her office with the headmaster. She appeared worried and her brow was furrowed. "I've done every spell I can think of and yet they all come back as perfectly normal. Medically there is nothing wrong with Miss Granger."

Dumbledore sighed as he looked over in the direction of his top female student. "All we can do is wait for her to wake up on her own. Mr. Diggory, are you sure there is nothing else you can think of? Any clue as to what happened would be most helpful."

Cedric went over every detail in his mind and at first he thought nothing of it, but now he was wondering if there was a connection. "She complained of a headache this morning and I didn't think of it at the time, but a few minutes before she passed out, I was overcome with dizziness and the urge to vomit. Since then I have had a slight headache, but I honestly thought it was due to my worry over her current condition."

"Perhaps there is a connection." The headmaster of Hogwarts said before looking at madam Pomfrey. "If Mr. Diggory consents to it, I think it would be wise to get a sample of his blood as well as run the same tests you used on Miss Granger."

"Of course you have my permission to do whatever needs to be done." Reaching out with his left hand, Cedric caressed her ice cold cheek. "If there is a chance it will help her I'll do anything. What confuses me is the fact I am not in the same condition as Hermione. When I got burned during the first task last year she got one as well. When she came down with the flu this summer I did as well. How come I am not sick with whatever has effected her?"

"We won't know the answer to that question until we find out what is wrong." Dumbledore stated before looking at the wall as he got lost in thought. "Whatever the cause it cannot be good. Something is coming and all we do is try to prepare for it the best that we can."

"Sir," Cedric had suddenly been struck by fear when something occurred to him. "You do not think it has something to do with the fact I almost died last year because of the killing curse do you?"

"No, my belief is this is something else entirely." A wave of relief washed over the sandy haired boy when he heard the headmasters words. "If it were indeed an effect of the killing curse there would be some sort of evidence. What I need from you Mr. Diggory is a list of anything that has changed in your relationship. Even if it does not seem all that important you must add it to the list. The tiniest clue could give us the answers we seek."

Hogwarts nurse interrupted Cedric before he had a chance to reply. "He can do all of that after I run some tests. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so."

"Professor Dumbledore sir, do you think that you could ask Harry to come sit with her while I have these tests done? I would rather not leave her alone and I would feel better knowing someone was here with her incase she wakes up."

"Of course I can do that for you." Dumbledore agreed with a nod of his head. "I am sure Mr. Potter is extremely concerned for his friend. I am going to try and get in contact with an old friend of mine who may be of some help should the tests not give us any information. I will check back in after Poppy has gotten all of the results. Miss Granger is an amazingly strong woman Mr. Diggory. She has survived for this long and I am sure she will continue to surprise us. I am going to let you take time off from your shadowing until we know exactly what is happening. You are no good to anyone if you are distracted."

"Thank you headmaster." He replied before leaning down to press a kiss to the love of his life's forehead. "Come on Mione, you are a fighter and I know you can fight whatever this is. We've just recently found each other and there is no way I am letting you go. I didn't save your life at the World Cup only to lose you now."

Even though he had no idea, Hermione could hear everything he said. She was aware of her surroundings, but she couldn't move or speak to let everyone know. She had even tried to talk to her boyfriend through the mind link, but she couldn't make a connection. Something was blocking the path and because of that all she could do was lay there and hope Cedric knew she was there with him and she would find a way to come back. If anyone could do it then it would be Hermione Granger; she was the brightest witch of her age after all.

TBC...

**AN: Hi everyone, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and you know as always I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I do need your opinion on something for this story, I need someone, a male student, preferably the son of a death eater or dark wizard, who can be assigned with the task of getting close to Hermione and seducing her or the other way around and female for Cedric or both. Do not worry though because this is a Hermione and Cedric story. Oh and thanks to everyone for the understanding and get well wishes about my health.**

**Please R&R like always!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!

It didn't take very long for Harry Potter to make his way down to the hospital wing once Dumbledore had pulled him out of class so he could visit Hermione. He had been in potions with her when it happened and he asked Snape if he could be excused as well, but the potions master had denied his request which did not surprise the boy with the lightning bolt scar; he hadn't put much faith in the idea Snape would let him out of class early. Heck, he believed that if his position had been switched with his best friend, he wouldn't have been allowed to leave even then. That's just the way Snape had been for as long as Harry had known him.

Once he finally made it to the hospital wing, Harry headed straight for where Hermione lay on one of the many cots spread out to hold patients. He saw Cedric sitting in a chair next to her while Madam Pomfrey fussed over him with her wand and other odd instruments he had never seen used in the muggle world which meant they were most likely enchanted in one way or another. Hopefully whatever she was looking for in Cedric would either provide the illness affecting her or a cure. No matter which one happened, it would help in some way. If they were lucky it would expose the diagnosis and provide a cure.

He walked over quickly, but quietly so as not to startle the two conscious people in the room. "How is she doing? I would have been here sooner, but bloody Snape would not give me permission and I can't really afford to get on his bad side anymore than I already am."

The Hufflepuff looked over at the black haired boy. "It's alright Harry, you did the right thing. The last thing Hermione or I would want is for you to get in to trouble. As for her condition; I really wish I could say we have good news, yet that would be a lie, but the upside is there hasn't been any bad news yet either. Nobody knows anything, or if they do, then they are not telling me. Physically she is fine from what the tests showed, but that doesn't mean something isn't wrong with her, it simply means that we just haven't found it yet. We are hopeful that my blood will tell us something since we are connected, but if not, then I don't know what the next step would be. Let us pray we get the answers from my blood."

Harry nodded before taking a seat on the other side of Hermione and grabbing her hand. "This is all my fault you know. The only reason Hermione got hurt at the World Cup was because the Death eaters wanted me. If she hadn't been there, if she wasn't my friend, they would have no reason to of attacked her. I mean yes she is a muggle born, but plenty of muggle borns were left unscathed. The only reason Hermione wasn't was because she was my friend and is important to me. They tried to kill her as a way to hurt me."

The sandy haired wizard frowned as glanced at Harry before turning his attention back to the woman he loved. "You weren't the one who cursed her Harry. You saved her life by calling out for help. If you hadn't gotten my attention she would've died and we both know it. The death eaters attacked without care so even if she wasn't your friend there is a chance, a big chance, that she still would have been attacked."

"There is a chance she would have been fine though; a bigger chance than she had that night." He countered before rubbing his scar since it started to hurt a bit ever since he entered the hospital wing. "What if something is going wrong with the spell? Is is possibly that it could wear off over time?"

"I thought that as well until Dumbledore assured if that were the case then I would be affected as well since technically I died last year and our bond is what's keeping the other alive. It's almost as if someone is trying to wedge their way between our bond in order to access our powers or something. What I don't understand is who would be powerful enough to pull off such a feat. It would take someone with an incredible amount of dark magic and knowledge in the dark arts to pull something like this off. The only wizards I can think who have that kind of power are not people you want to meet though you have met the most powerful of all."

"Voldermort." Harry breathed watching as Cedric flinched slightly at the mention of the Dark Lords name. "It has to be him. Voldermort craves power more than anything else and if he thinks your bond can benefit him, he will do whatever it takes to get such power in his grasp."

The Hufflepuff frowned as he thought over what Harry had just said. He had a point, Voldermort was back and if he could find a way to keep from dying again, or well dying as much as he could since he was sort of immortal, he would do whatever it took and being he had no qualms about killing and torturing people to reach his goal, it was terrifying to think of how far he would go.

"We have to do something Harry." He said slightly panicked. "I can't lose her, not now, I won't stand for it. If we have to fight then we will, I do not care what the ministry is saying or how people refuse to believe the truth for fear of history repeating itself. "We will make them see the truth even if I have to do it one person at a time. I can be very convincing when I want to be. Hermione says I could charm my way out of a murder conviction. This will be a piece of cake, I hope."

TBC...

**AN: I know this chapter was short, but you all know how my health is bad? Well recently it's just going down hill fast. If you have questions feel free to message me and I will answer. Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter and as usual I would love to hear your thoughts.**

**Please R&R like always!**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!

Hermione Granger had been mentally fighting off whoever was in her mind for a while now and at first she feared no amount of fighting would do any good, but just when she was ready to give up hope, she could feel the presence in her mind slowly backing off, though she knew it would be back, she could feel it in her bones. When her mind was in her control once more, a rush of emotions and thoughts from her boyfriend filled her head. It was a little overwhelming at first, but after a few moments Hermione was able to sort everything out while at the same open her eyes extremely slowly because the light was stinging her eyes and causing the headache she had worse by the second. Eventually she was able to open her eyes and turn her head slightly to the left in order to look beside her where Harry, Ginny, and Luna slept in chairs Dumbledore had conjured for them. Cedric was sitting next to her with his body hunched over so he was able to rest his head against her shoulder.

Not wanting to wake him from his slumber quite yet, the bookworm reached out to run the tips of her fingers over his cheek and then down brushing them against his lips lightly. He look terrible and considering Cedric never appeared as anything other than perfect, seeing him like this worried Hermione greatly. She wondered if he had slept at all since her accident, or whatever they wanted to call it. Knowing him as well as she did, she was pretty sure he hadn't. If she had to bet, she would stake her life on the fact he had been by her side through it all. The same could be said about the others as well. She was not surprised to see that Ron was absent. They were still on the outs because of last year and even if they weren't, she doubted Cedric would have allowed him to stay. Those two were never going to be friends, though the Hufflepuff boy would be polite enough for Hermione and Harry's sake.

"Cedric," Hermione pressed the palm of her hand against his cheek once again. "Ced, wake up love."

The sandy haired wizard blinked a couple of times before he slowly lifted his head. "Hermione?"

A small smile crept over her lips as he spoke her name. It was wonderful to hear his voice since she hadn't been sure if she would hear or see him ever again. "Yes, it's me Cedric. How long was I out? How long have you been here? Did anyone bother to get my homework? I must be so far behind-"

She never got a chance to finish what she had been saying because in the next second Cedric had his lips pressed firmly against hers with both of his hands braced against either side of her head. He kissed for a couple of minutes bathing in her very essence before pulling back a fraction of an inch or so. "I should have known one of the first things you would ask about was schoolwork. You don't have to worry about that love; Luna was kind enough to get your assignments and Ginny did research for you in the library writing down pages and pages of notes. Dumbledore talked to each of your professors and they agreed to extend you the extra time you will need in order to finish your work. As for how long you were out; it was four of the longest days of my life. How are you feeling? Do you remember anything? Do you have any idea what happened?"

"I'll answer your questions when you answer mine." She told him with a stern expression on her face. "You think that you fooled me in to forgetting my question about how long the lot of you have been here, but I know you better than that. You're avoiding answering my questions because you know I am not going to be happy with the answer. Now, are you going to tell me the truth or must I come to my own conclusions which are probably much worse than the actual truth?"

He sighed knowing that she was right which annoyed him, but he would tell her the truth in order to assure she remained calm since he couldn't be sure if she got upset she wouldn't have another episode; four days was long enough and Cedric did not fancy waiting another four days for her to wake up a second time. "Since you demand an answer you cannot get angry or upset. I have been here the entire time accept when Madam Pomfrey ran some tests on my blood. Harry has been her most of the time accept to sleep, eat, and attend classes or Quiddich practice. Ginny hasn't left your side for two days, not even for classes and as for Luna, well she wandered in the second day you were here and simply never left. Dumbledore came to see you quite often though he left a few times to see if he could retrieve answers about your condition. I am sure he will be here any minute since you are now awake and I am sure he has questions of his own for you. Alright love, I answered your questions so now it is time for you to answer mine. Do you remember anything at all?"

Hermione shook her head no slowly. "It's all kind of a blank actually. I only remember being in class and joking around with you and then there was this voice, I have no idea what they were saying, but it was inhuman and then nothing. Everything is black when I try to remember. You were not affected though were you? I mean you seem okay minus a bad case of bed head and your thoughts indicate you were fine other than the fact you were concerned for me. What do you think that means?"

Dumbledore chose that moment to walk in with a small grin on his old wrinkled lips and his eyes were twinkling. "I think I have a theory if you'd be interested in hearing it."

TBC...

Please R&R like always!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Harry Potter!

It had been a little over a week since Hermione Granger had woken up from the 'magical coma' as she had taken to calling the incident and physically she was doing perfectly according to Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore, but mentally she was about ready to snap which was saying a lot considering it took a lot for the muggle born to lose her temper. She understood that her boyfriend, friends, and teachers were only concerned for her health, but she felt as if she could not get a moments as constantly with her asking if she were alright and watching her as if they expected her to have nervous breakdown or something. She understood their concern and knew that if she were in their positions her behavior would be the same and yet she was not in their position and so Hermione felt she had a right to feel the way she did.

"There is a Quiddich came this afternoon and I promised someone I would be at the game so Luna is going to take over until dinner and then Cedric said he will be finished with his work for the day and will take the night watch." Ginny was sitting on the couch in the common room with her feet tucked up underneath her as she looked over the sports section of the Daily Prophet. "I would invite you to tag along, but I know you don't like to go unless Gryffindor is playing and since they are not, I knew you would most likely decline my offer."

Hermione sighed and tried to smile politely as her friend glanced her way. "You know me well Ginny. You know, I can look after myself. It;s not as if I am going to do something reckless or stupid."

"Nobody said you were." The redhead countered quickly. "We all know how capable you are of taking care of yourself, but the point is we are not staying with you because we think you are weak, rather because we care about you Hermione; you are our family and we protect and look after our family. You would do the same thing for any of us and you know it. Besides, if something happened to you on my watch, even if it were just a paper cut, Cedric would kill me as would Harry and I happen to like my life so you are just going to have to grin and bear it until Dumbledore can figure out a way to stop it all."

The genius Gryffindor rolled her eyes slightly. "Ginny, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but honestly, if it is Voldermort doing this like Dumbledore thinks, what change do you, myself, or any of the others really have against him if he decides to show up here? Dumbledore has a true chance of defeating him and Harry seems to be lucky whenever he is around, but in reality the rest of us wouldn't stand a chance and you should not be here putting your life at risk for me."

Ginny twisted around in her seat so she wouldn't have to keep craning her neck. "It really isn't up to you what I decide to do with my life Hermione. I am old enough to make my own choices and this is not the first time I have faced off with 'you know who' remember? This is my choice Mione and you don't have to like it, but you bloody well need to respect it. What I am doing for you is no different than what you do for Harry whenever he is in danger so if you can do it then I can as well."

"Nothing I say is going to change your mind is it?" She questioned knowing the answer already. When her friend nodded she decided it was about time to change the subject since the current topic wasn't going anywhere and she already had a small headache from the stress of everything going on lately. "You mentioned that you promised someone you would go to the game this afternoon. Is it safe for me to assume this someone is a guy?"

Ginny turned bright red and quickly averted her eyes. "It might be a guy, but what does that matter? I go to all the Gryffindor games and you're not making a big deal about that."

"Who says I am making a big deal about this?" Hermione shot back with a smirk resting on her lips. "I just find it mighty interesting that you turned the color of pumpkin juice when I mentioned it and the fact you are unwilling to tell me who asked you go tells me my hunch was right and it indeed is a guy. Considering you have never been shy about telling me about all the guys in your life before, that means you afraid I won't understand once I find out who it is. I will find out eventually you know and probably soon considering I spend a lot of my time around you. Come on Gin, I need a book from the library and on the way you can tell me all about your mystery man. Goodness knows it will be nice to focus on someone else for a little while."

The younger girl nodded and stood up in order to help Hermione remove the books from her lap. "Sometimes I think you should have been put in Slytherin because you are enjoying my embarrassment way more than you probably should. I sure hope that Cedric knows what he has gotten himself in to; I hope he knows you are a lot to handle and coming from me that means a lot considering Fred and George are my brothers. Maybe if you stop grumbling all the time about never having a moment to yourself, I will tell all about this mystery man, it's called a compromise Hermione, you stop griping and I will spill the beans."

TBC...

**AN: I know this chapter was short and lacked Cedric, but I wanted to do some Hermione and Ginny friendship stuff considering I don't do it a lot in my stories and I wanted to give it a try. Oh, Monday I am traveling to see my doctor and I am not sure when I will be back, but hopefully a day or two unless they need to do something. Anyways, I will try to post again sometime when I get back.**

**Please R&R like always!**


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